Jamie Oliver’s cooking program welcomes Tobie Puttock to the fold

13 Feb 2018

The Good Foundation proudly announces much loved local Australian Chef Tobie Puttock as Creative Director of Jamie's Ministry of Food.

This is the newest development by exclusive licensee The Good Foundation to expand and raise awareness of Jamie's Ministry of Food programs in Australia. Effective this month, Tobie's role forms part of a new team with a revised strategy planned to take the organisation into the next phase of the successful home cooking education program.

Tobie's honest, light-hearted approach and passion for teaching people about food and healthy ways to approach it place him perfectly to evolve the program and lead the charge in Australia from a creative program perspective. Tobie's role will also include the inception of ideas for the forward direction of the organisation in close consultation with recently appointed CEO, Amy Smith. The direction of the organisation is to transform Australia's food habits which includes teaching people to cook with fresh food for better health.

The role will also include work in the partnerships space to bring to life consultation with relevant health organisations working to address issues relating to diabetes, heart health, childhood nutrition, healthy aging and the battle against diet related disease.

Melbourne's famed Cafe e Cucina served as a launching pad for Tobie's long standing and varied cooking career. From there he perfected his culinary skills in Italy followed by time in the UK working at the famous River Cafe, where he met a young Jamie Oliver, who shared his passion for simply cooked Italian food. After returning to Melbourne to launch Termini, Tobie then returned to the UK where he was head chef at the first Fifteen Restaurant, a social enterprise teaching under-privileged youths to become chefs. He also established Australia's own Fifteen Restaurant.

Tobie's interest in concepts such as seasonal cooking, face to face lessons to create opportunity for social connection and a shared passion for cooking with fresh food from scratch, clearly illustrate the synergy between Tobie's approach to food and cooking and Jamie's Ministry of Food program in Australia. Thus, Tobie's appointment to Jamie's Ministry of Food Australian operation is no surprise. Tobie's mission in his new role is to educate people about the importance of home cooking for better health.

Amy Smith, CEO of The Good Foundation and Jamie's Ministry of Food said, "Our goal to change Australia's food and eating habits and ensure that Jamie's Ministry of Food becomes synonymous with improving people's health. Tobie has already led in this space locally based on his work with Fifteen along with his last book so we know he is the perfect addition to our team."

About Jamie's Ministry of Food Australia

Jamie's Ministry of Food is an innovative, community based cooking program based on Jamie Oliver's beliefs around the associated benefits of cooking fresh food from scratch. The program which launched in Australia in 2011 teaches home cooking using Jamie Oliver's recipes. Participants learn surprisingly simple cooking methods along with the fundamentals of food, how to shop and basic kitchen skills. The classes are led by teams of dedicated Food Trainers with the support of local volunteers in kitchens around Australia. All recipes used in Jamie's Ministry of Food use fresh food, addressing the need for Australians to consume less processed food and instead cook with more fresh ingredients which has been shown to have positive effects on long term health.

Jamie's Ministry of Food Australia has been proven to work. An evaluation, conducted by Deakin University and University of Melbourne showed that program participants gained new cooking skills and food knowledge, were more confident to cook meals from scratch, increased their vegetable intake and spent less on take away foods. (Full report available at www.jamiesministryoffood.com)

Jamie's Ministry of Food, delivered by The Good Foundation, achieves measurable health and wellbeing outcomes for participants by inspiring and empowering them to change in the way they and their families eat, and how they think about food. Cooking is a life skill which should be accessible to all.

The Good Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which has partnered with Jamie Oliver and principal partner, Woolworths to deliver Jamie's Ministry of Food throughout Australia.